Alcatra AçorianaTerceira Beef Pot Roast in a Clay Pot

Alcatra is the festival dish of Terceira, in the Azores: big pieces of beef cooked for hours in an unglazed clay pot with wine, bacon, onions and warm spices, until the meat falls apart and the juices turn rich and dark. On the island it's served at the Festas do Espírito Santo and at family Sundays, always with a sweet bread called massa sovada to soak up the sauce.

It's one of the easiest feast dishes there is, because the oven does almost everything. Two things matter. Use cuts that need long cooking, such as shin or a mix of shin and rump, so they turn soft and gelatinous. And keep the pot tightly closed and the heat low, so the meat braises in its own juices and the wine instead of drying out.

The recipe

Alcatra AçorianaTerceira Beef Pot Roast in a Clay Pot

Alcatra açoriana from Terceira: beef slow-cooked in a clay pot with wine, bacon, allspice and bay until it falls apart. Easy oven method, big flavour.

Print Pin Share

Prep20 min

Cook240 min

Total260 min

Serves6

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

6

½×1×2×3×

• 1.5 kg beef, ideally half shin and half rump or topside, cut into large chunks of about 150 g
• 150 g toucinho or unsmoked streaky bacon, cut into strips
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 allspice berries (pimenta-da-jamaica)
• 10 black peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 1 small piece cinnamon stick (optional)
• 50 g butter, in small pieces
• 500 ml red wine, or dry white wine
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• Massa sovada or crusty white bread, to serve

Method

1. If you're using an unglazed clay pot, soak it (and its lid) in cold water for 30 minutes first, so it doesn't crack in the oven.
2. Lay half the bacon strips across the bottom of the pot, then half the onion. Rub the beef with the salt and arrange it on top in a single snug layer.
3. Tuck in the garlic, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon. Cover with the rest of the onion and bacon, then dot with the butter.
4. Pour in the wine. It should come about halfway up the meat. Add a splash of water if it doesn't.
5. Cover tightly with the lid, or with foil and then the lid. Put the pot into a cold oven, then set it to 160 °C, so the clay heats gradually.
6. Cook for 4 hours without stirring. Check once after 2½ hours and add a little hot water if the liquid has dropped below a third of the way up the meat.
7. The alcatra is ready when the beef pulls apart easily with a fork. If you'd like the top browned, uncover for the last 20 minutes.
8. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Serve straight from the pot, spooning the juices over the meat, with plenty of bread.

Notes

Portuguese

Portuguese hand-painted clay cooking pot

For rice dishes, feijoada and anything that goes from the oven straight to the table.

Tip: Check the listing for stovetop use. Many clay pots are oven-only or need a heat diffuser.

View on Amazon

Clear ticks

Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.

Without a clay pot

A heavy cast-iron casserole with a tight lid works well. Use the same layering and 150 °C for about 3½ hours, as cast iron holds heat more evenly than clay. The flavour is very close. What you lose is the slightly earthy taste the clay gives, which is part of the tradition on Terceira. Our clay pot cooking guide covers seasoning and caring for unglazed pots.

Regional differences

Every Terceira family has its own alcatra. Some use only white wine, others red, and some add a little chouriço or a spoon of tomato. The spices also change: allspice and bay are nearly always there, while cloves and cinnamon depend on the cook. In some villages the meat cooks overnight in a wood-fired oven. Alcatra de peixe, made the same way with firm fish, is also eaten on the island. For more about the islands' food, see what to eat in the Azores.

What to serve with it

Bread is essential, because the juices are the best part. Massa sovada is the island tradition, but any soft white loaf or a crusty roll works; our Portuguese bread guide has a few ideas. Plain boiled potatoes or rice are common too. Start with a light soup such as canja de galinha if you're feeding a crowd.

From the shop

What you’ll need

Links go to Amazon, where you can check today’s price. If you buy, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Portuguese

Portuguese hand-painted clay cooking pot

For rice dishes, feijoada and anything that goes from the oven straight to the table.

Tip: Check the listing for stovetop use. Many clay pots are oven-only or need a heat diffuser.

View on Amazon

Amazon best seller

Lodge enamel cast iron dutch oven, 6 qt

A best seller for slow cooking: feijoada, arroz de pato broth and Sunday stews.

Tip: Enamelled, so no seasoning needed.

View on Amazon

Portuguese

Azorean Cooking by Maria Lawton

Family recipes from the Azores, one of the best-loved Portuguese cookbooks on Amazon.

Tip: Great for Portuguese-American families keeping recipes alive.

View on Amazon